SpellingRoom 17 is a busy place! At this time we have 19 students in the class, the smallest class I've ever had. It is so much easier to meet with students individually and offer the help they may need. We are having a great time and learning a lot! Read about our class and what we are up to!
We began our first Spelling list of 12 words on Monday, September 13. I introduce the words on Monday and we practice different spelling activities during the week. Students should study at home for the test on Friday. I use the Spalding method, which incorporates handwriting, phonics, spelling and reading. Our words come from the Ayres list. Look for the week's words to come home each Monday of a full week of school. We will be writing each week's words in a special notebook, and I will also be teaching keyboarding in the computer lab using our spelling words.
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Science is a favorite subject in Room 17! We see it everywhere in our world, and First Grade is a great year to explore the amazing world around us.
The Earth Systems program is the chosen science curriculum of the Anchorage School District
The Power of Water is the name of our science kit for September, October, and November. Actually, this topic is something that we observe all year as we study weather, Alaskan Animals, and current events. Feel free to send us any news articles relating to this topic. With Fall being hurricane season, the power of water has been quite visible in the news.
Weather has been a hobby of mine for a long time, and in 1998 I completed a college-level meteorology course.
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In Math, we use the Heath series. This series addresses the revised math standards which have been adopted nationwide. The lessons "spiral", that is, concepts are revisited during the year, rather than learning one isolated concept and moving on. We have a workbook that is used for group lessons and individual practice, and will be used for home work, too. I like to pull out a whole chapter, staple it together, and put in a folder called the "Math Packet".
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The Great Body Shop is the Anchorage School District's adopted Health curriculum. It consists of a "weekly reader"-type magazine that can be updated yearly. I prefer to 3-hole punch the magazines and keep them in a one-inch, three-ring binder that will travel between home and school.
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Social Studies.Grade one focuses on neighborhoods, homes, families and safety. I like to add a mapping unit to tie this all together. You'll see one our our special books that will start out in space, come closer to Earth, to North America, the United States, Alaska, and right into the classroom! Remember: Never Eat Soggy Waffles!
We will be developing a book called "All About Me" throughout the school. It will include some social studies and writing.
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Reading
is done all
day in all subjects. Our adopted reading series is by Houghton-Mifflin.
It is a bit hard to start the year with, so Bayshore has ordered
supplemental reading materials over the last several years. These
books include phonetic elements, such as focusing on the sound
of /ch/, and science books to go with our Power of Water uTo the top of the page.
Writing Process is a term you will see on our First Grade Report Card. In the First Semester, we do begin writing, but are focusing on children being "fearless" about writing their thoughts down. This is done in journals. After journal writing each day, we "debrief" several examples of the children's work that demonstrate good writing.
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Homework. Children should do some reading and writing every evening. I will send "official" papers that will be stamped "HOMEWORK". These papers should be completed at home and returned the next day, if possible, or soon thereafter. This work will be an extension of our class studies, or extra practice. Monday's Spelling list should be studied a little each night. I have lots of ideas to make studying virtually painless.
I believe children's good study habits start in First Grade. If any of the homework causes major problems, let me know.
Special projects. We've been noticing the new quarters as we are counting money during our daily calendar activities. Check out this site for the US Mint to learn more!
| http://www.usmint.gov/ |
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Listen to school announcements on Monday for Sunny Shores with "Playground Weather"for the week. Don't be caught in the rain or cold without proper clothing! See if your class can answer Sunny's weather question! Check out this Alaska weather site! |
| http://www.alaska.net/~nwsar/ | |
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